Trapped
by StephiiDd
Summary: "You boy's better remind me, dehydration kills someone before starvation, right? Now given Kimiko's size dehydration could kill her in what? Three, four days?" - Raikim, long oneshot.


**Sorry it's taken a while for me to post, I started work on Estrela's sequel but then paused halfway through to write this. I'd also just like to quickly thank xxx-benedictbrothersfan-xxx for reviewing every chapter of Estrela - without you that story would currently have no views :p.**

* * *

It was early evening as Kimiko sat on the steps of the temple, glued to her PDA. The sky above had traces of pink and orange as the evening slowly turned to darkness, while a gentle breeze brushed across her face. She had decided to use her PDA outside just so she could enjoy the serenity. As much as she loved hanging out with the guys she sometimes wanted some time to herself, she tried explaining it once to them and they all just stared back at her with a confused expression – especially Omi, who then quickly turned to his _ancient guide to females_ book for answers.

As she sat typing away on her PDA she heard footsteps behind her, she looked in the corner of her eye to see Raimundo sat next to her, she tried to fight the slowly forming blush on her cheeks as she saw him staring at her.

"Hey Rai" she said, still looking down at her PDA, "What's up?"

"I just wanted to see if you were alright, you've been out here quite a while."

Kimiko locked her PDA before turned to face the Brazilian, "I have? How long?"

"About three hours"

He smiled as Kimiko's eyes widened in disbelief, she glanced down at her PDA to confirm the time before muttering, "Damn, it didn't feel like three hours"

Raimundo chuckled at the girl's reaction, watching her as she turned on the steps – her back now leaning against the banister, she placed her PDA on the porch before fully turning her attention to him.

"So what have you and the guys been up to then?"

He turned to rest his back against the banister to the side of him, almost copying Kimiko's sitting position before answering, " We played cards mostly, using snacks as our money. Man that got intense when Clay put his Texan hot sauce in the mix…"

"I can imagine" Kimiko said with a giggle

"Then after playing that for about an hour and a half Omi decided to bring out your most favourite book, to once again try to figure out why you liked having some alone time."

"Will that boy ever learn to not use that book to understand me, he's only asking for it to be burnt in his face."

Raimundo gave his signature smug grin at the Japanese girl's reaction; noticing how her cheeks turned a slight pink when she looked at him. She looked beautiful.

"But yeah, that lasted half an hour then-" Raimundo's words were cut off by the alert of a new message on Kimiko's PDA.

"Oh sorry, hold on" she muttered as she picked up her PDA. After pressing a few buttons she slowly looked back up at Raimundo with a suspicious look. "You didn't send me a virus did you?"

"No why?"

"I've got a message from 'unknown' and the last time I had that it was a virus from you and I couldn't use my PDA for two days"

Raimundo sniggered at the memory, how Kimiko was out to get him until the PDA worked again. "Well whatever it is, I haven't done anything"

She gave one last suspicious glance before turning her gaze to the message, her eyes widened as she read the contents.

"What is it Kim?"

Kimiko quickly hesitated before slowly passing the PDA over to Raimundo; she watched as he took it from her hand and began to read.

 _Kimiko,_

 _Meet me in the woods tonight at eleven,_

 _Follow the trail through the woods and you'll find me,_

 _From,_

 _Your secret admirer._

Raimundo glared at the message, his grip tightening on the tech in his hands, without looking up he asked with a stern tone, "Are you going?"

Kimiko looked at Raimundo with surprise, did he seem… Jealous?

"I don't know"

Raimundo looked up at Kimiko, as he passed back her PDA he saw a cautious look in her eyes.

"You don't know?"

"Well… I'd like to, because I'm curious as to whom it is. But then again the last time I got a message like that, Jack Spicer kidnapped me."

She finished her sentence with a simple shrug, trying to make the message seem like it wasn't important.

"Yeah we don't want you being kidnapped again, you hate being the damsel in distress."

"Whoa. Who saved me when Jack kidnapped me? Oh yeah, I did." She said as she folded her arms with a smirk.

Raimundo raised an eyebrow at the girl's comment, "You only escaped because I sent you a virus Kimi. Besides you still got yourself kidnapped."

"Hey, I only went because I thought you were trying to pull some prank." She quickly threw a hand over her mouth as she shut her eyes, she'd told them everything that happened when she got kidnapped… at least everything except that.

She slowly opened her eyes to see Raimundo staring at her with a lob-sided grin; she kept her hand over her mouth as she felt herself begin to blush at an alarming rate.

"So you were just happily going to walk into what you thought was a prank?"

"Actually…" she began, finally moving her hand, "I walked in yelling 'come on out Raimundo' to then see Spicer appear."

An awkward silence fell as Kimiko tried to avoid making eye contact at the grinning Brazilian, her feelings for the boy made the entire moment feel a lot worse, she had never planned on telling anyone that, let alone him.

"So… are you sure this message isn't some prank?" She asked sheepishly,

"I promise it wasn't me."

He watched her disappointed reaction as she slightly lowered her head, taking a chance Raimundo shuffled closer to the girl; he reached his hand out to her chin before tilting her head upwards to face him.

"What are you thinking?"

His calm tone almost took Kimiko by surprise; she looked up into his emerald eyes before speaking. "I'm just trying to figure out if it's a trap or not. I mean, if it's a trap it'll probably be Spicer… but if its real then I can't think who it'd be from. If I've ever spoken to a guy on the Wu hunts it was either to buy something or to ask for directions, even then they never got my name, so it's just hard to think who has my number and would actually be interested."

Raimundo took in her words, his mind focused on the last part. Did she really think no one would be interested in her? To Raimundo that was impossible, Kimiko had no idea of the strong feelings he had for her and as much as he wanted to tell her, he never got the best chance to.

"It honestly sounds like a trap, but I can tell you're still curious. I don't think I can help with your decision since my input would sound biased due to wanting to keep a teammate safe… But if you're still unsure I don't mind helping you work it out"

Kimiko smiled at Raimundo, not entirely sure how to reply. She quickly inhaled before finding words to say.

"Thanks Rai, I'll probably leave it for a bit you know, just decide later."

Raimundo smiled as he stood up, offering her a hand up. When she accepted he pulled her onto her feet before heading back into the temple.

* * *

Kimiko lay wide awake in bed; no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't sleep. Picking up her PDA to look at the time she immediately shut her eyes from the sudden bright light. After a few seconds she slightly opened her eyes to see the time. 10:35p.m., staring at the time Kimiko suddenly jumped out of bed – she was going. She had to find out.

She quickly changed out of her pyjamas and into some black jeans and a dark blue, long sleeved shirt. After quickly putting on some shoes she checked the time again, 10:43p.m., she was about to walk out her room when she thought of something. Turning to her notepad she ripped out a sheet of paper, writing a note and then folding it in half to then write 'Raimundo' on. She placed it on her pillow before heading out.

* * *

As Kimiko wandered through the forest she couldn't help but admire the twilight sky shining through the trees. The last time she checked her phone it had read 10:56p.m. Before running out of battery, she swore under her breath as that was the only thing she brought with her. Since then the useless phone remained in her back pocket.

In the corner of her eye Kimiko saw a ball of light; out of curiosity she turned her body towards it. Stunned for a moment, Kimiko quickly realised the ball of light was actually a ball of fire, as she walked over to it the flames began to move.

"So I guess you're my trail, huh?" she muttered aloud.

After walking for what felt like half an hour, Kimiko glanced round to see she was completely lost. They'd been in the forest before but never this far out, regret suddenly filled her mind as she realised she never truly paid attention to the way they came. Calling balls of fire to her hands she carried on walking, looking at her surroundings every couple of seconds.

After another ten minutes of walking she had reached a more open part of the woods, the fire ball quickly disappeared as she looked round. To her left was what looked to be a cave, opposite it were the trees of the forest – yet there was a decent distance in between where no trees grew.

"Come on out" she called, "I know someone's there."

She turned her head in the direction of someone clapping; she stood and watched Jack Spicer emerge from the cave.

"Man I should've bet money on it being you" she snapped, the fire in her hands growing.

"Kimiko, Kimiko, Kimiko. I just wanted to talk."

"Well talk" she spat, not once taking her eyes off the irritating red head.

"I have an offer for you" he began with such a simple tone, "You give up your position on the Xiaolin-loser side and join the Heylin side instead"

Kimiko stood shocked at the teen's offer, before she could try to say anything she burst out into a fit of the giggles. "Y-You're kidding right?" she spoke between the laughs.

"Nope"

"Like that'll ever happen. I'm on the right side; I would never give that up"

Jack sighed as she clasped his hands together, "Well I figured you'd say that. So you see I came up with an alternative."

"Oh really?"

"If you refuse my first offer, well I'll leave you here to die."

"Jack I think I know how to work my way out of a forest. Unlike you, I'm not stupid"

"Take the offer, or be left to die"

Kimiko spun round startled, taking a few paces back away from Wuya.

"Should've known the old hag was involved"

"I see you're as charming as ever, Kimiko"

Kimiko quickly took another step back as Wuya walked forward, she watched as her lips curled into an evil grin. She held back a shudder as Wuya stopped, right in front of her.

"Take the offer Kimiko"

"Never"

"Oh well"

Before Kimiko could think Wuya kicked her straight in the stomach, sending her flying into the entrance of the cave. She clutched her stomach with one had as she leaned up with the other. Watching in horror she saw Jack fly above the opening with the Fist of Tebigong.

"Fist of Tebigong" he yelled as he threw a punch into the rocks high above the entrance.

Kimiko screamed and shuffled back as rocks began to fall in front of her, she fell to the ground as a rock hit her in the side of the temple. The sounds of evil laughter and rocks falling were all that she heard as darkness took over.

* * *

Raimundo walked down the hallway to the kitchen, when he had finished getting dressed he decided to go see Kimiko in hopes of finding out if she went out last night. When he knocked against the wall of her room he had no reply, quickly peeking through the curtain he was greeted by an empty room. He shrugged it off thinking she was either in the bathroom or already in the kitchen. Debating the ideas he decided to just go to the kitchen.

"Morning Rai" Clay greeted with a mouthful of food

"Morning guys" He muttered back, looking round the room he saw only Clay and Omi. "Hey, where's Kim?"

Clay swallowed his food before smirking at the Brazilian, "Somebody's eager to see her"

"No, I just wanted to ask her something. Just to do with a chat we had yesterday. She wasn't in her room so I presumed she was here."

At the thought of a missing teammate Omi quickly stopped eating to join the conversation. "If Kimiko is not here nor in her room, then where could she be?"

"Is there a problem young one?"

Raimundo jumped before turning to face Master Fung, he hadn't noticed he arrived.

"Have you seen Kimiko, Master Fung?" Raimundo asked, worry evidently in his voice.

Master Fung frowned, "I am afraid I have not seen her since yesterday."

At his response Raimundo ran out of the room and down the hallway, Clay and Omi not far behind.

Raimundo quickly stopped in front of their bathroom, banging on the door. "Kim? Kim you in there?"

When there was no answer Raimundo opened the door, running in to see the empty bathroom. He ran out just as the guys had caught up, ignoring their calls he ran down to their rooms, pulling Kimiko's curtain open he walked into her room. He quickly scanned the small area, his eyes fixing on the pillow.

He kneeled down to see a piece of paper folded in half with 'Raimundo' written on top. He picked it up and walked back to her 'door' as he read the note.

 _Curiosity got the better of me,_

 _If I'm not back by lunchtime tomorrow then you were right._

 _It was a trap._

 _Kimiko._

Raimundo leaned against the wall, brushing a hand through his hair. He wouldn't admit it, but he wished it was a trap. The thought of Kimiko being out most the night with someone who liked her irritated him.

"Raimundo, what is going on?" Omi asked, as the two monks stood facing Raimundo.

"I'll explain back in the kitchen. Master Fung will want to hear this too."

* * *

Everyone sat in silence as Raimundo retold the conversation from the previous day, he told them everything to do with the message she received – excluding why she fell for Jack's trap last time and that she didn't know who'd like her. When he finished recapping the chat they had he then quickly explained the note, allowing them to understand his previous concern.

"It is still early. I do believe we should not worry until lunchtime. If she still hasn't returned by evening then we will devise a plan for finding her." Master Fung said in a calm manner.

"And what if that's too late? What if Spicer's holding her hostage?" Raimundo argued,

"Raimundo, all we can do for the time being is wait. Kimiko even stated the time in her note to you."

"Yeah and what if Kimiko needs us and us sitting here is wasting time, for all we know she could be hurt."

"Raimundo that is enough, I have told you what we will do and you will respect that."

Raimundo simply stared at the man before storming out the room – he needed to punch something, and quickly.

* * *

She began to cough as she slowly woke, her body ached and her mouth was dry and filled with a thin layer of dirt. Quickly pushing herself onto her side she managed to swirl some saliva round in her mouth before spitting it out onto the ground – gross, but it helped.

She grabbed her head in her hand as she suddenly felt dizzy, cringing as she felt a sticky substance just above her left eyebrow, in the poor light she looked at her fingers, gasping at the dark colour.

Bad throat; thirsty; head injury.

She made the quick mental note as she attempted to check for more injuries. She looked to her left foot to see it trapped under several larger rocks. Slowly shuffling towards the rocks she realised that pulling her foot free might cause the rocks to fall again.

"Great" she whispered, suddenly feeling dizzy again.

Quickly coming to her senses Kimiko raised a hand and called on her element, frowning at the tiny flames she produced. Stretching her arm back she looked down the cave before turning back to the giant rock pile.

"What if…"

Taking one last look at the rest of the cave, she extinguished the small flame in her hand and quickly pulled her leg free.

She let out a quiet cry as a pain exploded in her ankle; she forced herself to the back of the cave as rocks began to tumble towards her. Closing her eyes she threw her arms around her head, pleading for the nightmare to be over.

* * *

Clay walked into the training grounds, following the sound of fists colliding with wood. When he walked round the corner he saw Raimundo taking his anger out on one of the training dummies. As he got closer he saw Raimundo look at him from the corner of his eyes before turning to throw another punch.

"What do you want?"

"Rai, I want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine" he spat, throwing his fist into the wooden dummy.

"No Rai, you aren't and we both know why."

Raimundo stopped and turned to glare at the cowboy, "Yeah. We both know it; you constantly tease me about it. So what, why bring it up? You want me to say why I'm the only one who gives a damn?"

"First of all, we're all worried about our Kimiko. And secondly, yeah, I want to hear you say it."

"Well if you are worried at least try to act like it" he snapped, before turning back to punch the dummy.

"You didn't say it Rai"

He punched harder, trying to block out the cowboy.

"Rai"

Instead of going for a punch he turned and screamed, "I love her!"

He leaned his head against the dummy, sighing in defeat. "I love her, and I didn't try hard enough to prevent her from going. Hell I could've offered to go as backup yet I didn't."

"We don't know for sure she's in trouble partner"

"This is Kim we're talking about. If she really met her secret admirer she'd of been back by now, she'd at least know I'd be worrying if she was actually kidnapped or not."

Clay went to speak but quickly shut his mouth. He carefully thought of what to say before resting his hand on the Brazilians shoulder. "I know Master Fung won't let us do anything today, but first thing tomorrow morning we'll pay Spicer a visit."

Raimundo looked at Clay and nodded, if Spicer was behind this, he was going to pay.

* * *

Breathing quickly, she moved her arms from her face; rocks had tumbled down but by only a short distance. Breathing a sigh of relieve Kimiko slowly pushed herself upright, looking up at the rocks she saw only the slightest cracks of light shining through. While trying to figure out the time she quickly looked down to her stomach, shocked as it emitted a loud rumble.

"Great, thirsty and hungry" her moan came out as a whisper before coughing, her throat feeling like it had been replaced with sandpaper.

Adjusting her position she suddenly felt the familiar piece of technology in her back pocket, pulling out her phone she instantly hit the power button, silently begging for it to turn on. After several attempts she put it back in her back pocket as defeat – her phone was completely dead.

She winced as the left side of her head began to hurt, feeling dizzy she slowly lay back down on her side with nothing but her thoughts to keep her occupied.

When she was little she had always dreamed that one day she would find her prince charming, to her imagination he would be a boy from Japan with a love for anything tech. He'd have brown eyes, a sweet smile, and a fun personality and would always surprise her with gifts while making her feel like a princess.

Over the years she always had her prince charming in mind, yet her prince began to change as time went by in the temple. Her Japanese prince soon turned into the gorgeous, green eyed Brazilian who had brown, messy hair and an always interesting, fun-loving personality. With his signature smirk and lob-sided grin he also owned a rare, genuine smile which would make her fall more in love with the boy.

She wanted to tell him how much he meant to her, how much she loved him, but she couldn't tell if he felt the same way. She sighed at the thought, but quickly smiled as she pictured his face. Surely he'd find the note; he had to be worried about her.

Her eyes slowly closed as she smiled at the thought of him being concerned, fatigue taking over her body she let herself sleep.

* * *

Raimundo walked into the kitchen to see Clay and Omi once again eating. With a quiet sigh he sat down in his usual seat and stared at Kimiko's spot.

"She's been gone all day; can we say she's missing now?"

The two boys stopped eating to look at their teammate; taking a quick glance at each other before turning their sight back to Raimundo.

"Unfortunately I now believe Kimiko is in trouble" Omi said with a sigh.

"Trouble?" Raimundo spat. "She could be badly injured for all we know and we had to waste a whole day!"

"Then we'll make a plan right now, but only if you eat something partner. You'll need your strength."

Raimundo looked at the cowboy before turning to the food on the table; he quickly helped himself before looking back at his teammates.

"So like I said earlier partner, Spicer's tomorrow morning"

"But why Jack Spicer?" asked a slightly confused Omi

"Because last time she got kidnapped Spicer sent her a secret admirer message. It's only logical to go to him first."

Omi nodded at the Brazilian, "After Spicer then what? Should we check the forest?"

"Yeah, although the forest is huge, best we try and get a location out of Spicer."

The three all nodded in agreement before Clay spoke up, "Just considering all possibilities, but what if she's not in the forest? They could've met her there before kidnapping her and keeping her somewhere else."

"If that's the case, we'll make Spicer tell us where" Raimundo paused as he looked back over at the girls seat, "one way or another, Spicer's going to talk"

* * *

Kimiko continued to lie on the ground. She had tried standing up but the pressure on her injured ankle caused her to fall back to the ground. As she lay she couldn't help but grimace at the slowly developing headache, she kept looking up at the small rays of light which seeped through some of the rocks, she'd been out here a day at least – no wonder she had a headache. She clutched her stomach as it rumbled again, the violent noise reminding her of food and water… oh how she wished she had both right now.

Every time she blinked or twitched her left eyebrow she could feel the dry blood against her temple. Spicer and Wuya were going to pay… that is if she made it out.

'Don't say that. I will make it, they'll find me.'

She quickly scolded herself in her head, the guys would come, she knew they would. She tried to swallow but began to cough. Hating the sensation she shut her eyes and tried to take deep breaths.

She hated feeling weak, and it felt damn worse due to the fact Jack Spicer caused this. Keeping her eyes closed she decided to come up with different scenarios on how she'd get revenge.

* * *

The three monks crept through the so called lair in the early hours of the day, they all moved in silence until Omi whispered out.

"How long has Kimiko been missing for?"

"The message said 11.p.m so about thirty-two hours now. Also I don't think she'd eaten or drank anything since we all ate together."

Omi lowered his head at Raimundo's answer, slightly shocked at his instant response – had he done nothing but count the hours last night?

The three boys froze in place as Jack slammed the door to the basement open; as he stormed in he wore nothing but a red shirt, white boxers covered in smiley faces, and a long black dressing gown which uselessly hung on his shoulders.

"Now what evil deed shall I do today?" he asked himself, unaware of the company. "It's not been long enough for Kimiko to be dead yet, but I could go and steal their Wu…"

Before Clay could even turn his head, Raimundo flew out from the dark firing wind at the proclaimed evil boy genius, causing him to fly into the wall. Raimundo landed on his feet and marched towards the screaming boy, grabbing him by the shirt and throwing him up against the wall.

"Where's Kimiko?" He yelled. "What have you done to her?"

Jack shrieked as Raimundo once again slammed him into the wall, looking behind the angry Brazilian he saw Omi and Clay slowly step forward – their eyes on Raimundo.

"I said where is she?"

Jack let out a small whimper. "L-Like I'm going to tell!"

Raimundo pulled him forward leaving millimetres between their faces, his eyes narrowed as his voice turned to a dark tone. "Oh you're going to tell me, and I'll happily torture it out of you."

Jack's body filled with fear as he began screaming out for help, he shrieked again as Raimundo threw him back against the wall. His cries silenced as the basement door swung open, all eyes turning to the heylin witch.

"Wuya…" Omi muttered

"Well Jack, I guess screaming works better than telling them" she chuckled as she caught sight of Raimundo's reaction.

"Wuya you no good rotten vermin-" Clay was cut off by Wuya's cackling laugh.

"You boy's better remind me, dehydration kills someone before starvation, right? Now given Kimiko's size dehydration could kill her in what? Three, four days?"

Raimundo froze at the words, Kimiko had already been missing a day and a half, if they didn't find her soon…

He grabbed Jack before throwing him at the table; he watched the boy as his head hit the corner. Ignoring the drops of blood he quickly grabbed Jack and threw him back against the wall.

"Where is she?"

He glared at the small smirk coming from his mouth.

"Oh dear Raimundo, he won't tell you"

Just as he turned his gaze he saw Wuya jumped towards him, her foot outstretched ready to kick him, before he could change into his battle stance water flew across the room sending the witch into the wall, he turned to see Omi stood with the Orb of Tornami in his hands, he grinned at the monk as Omi and Clay went into battle with Wuya, leaving Jack to Raimundo.

"Oh boy" Jack muttered under his breath as Raimundo turned to face him, a dark look in his eyes.

"Now Spicer, where the hell is Kimiko?"

* * *

Master Fung stood outside the meditation hall waiting for the dragons-in-training to return. Despite them being absent for a few hours he had no doubt that they were fine, his worry however, was with Kimiko.

He knew that when she finally returned he'd have to lecture her on leaving so late at night, but also understood that Kimiko's heart was in the right place. Over the years he noticed that she was the type of person who would care dearly about her teammates as well as people around her, he had come to realise that she had to go, purely because she didn't want to risk upsetting a possible admirer by leaving him out in the forest all night. If it turned out the admirer was real she would've either accepted the person, or turned them down in the kindest way possible.

He had to smile, knowing that under her hot-headed temper was a loving, caring girl, and he felt honoured to be able to know this side of her too.

His thoughts were disrupted by the sound of the dragon landing in front of him; he kept his calm manner as he looked at each monk, his eyes fixing on the blood on one boy's knuckles.

"Greetings young ones" He called as they jumped off of Dojo, "Raimundo, what happened to your hand?"

He watched as the Brazilian looked down, turning his hand to see the small patches of blood.

"It's not mine, its Spicer's"

"I see. Did your morning quest aid in finding Kimiko?"

"She's somewhere in the forest, when Wuya showed up she made a comment about how long it takes to die from dehydration. Rai couldn't get anything out of Jack other than she was somewhere in the forest"

Master Fung frowned at the cowboys comment, deciding what to say next.

"How long has she been missing?"

"Day and a half"

Master Fung turned to Raimundo, surprised by his instant answer. He nodded his head before giving them their next move.

"I suggest you clean up and change. After that quickly eat and then pack a bottle of water before you begin searching the forest. If Kimiko is indeed trapped in the forest the important thing she will need is water."

The three monks bowed before running off into the temple, Master Fung let out a small sigh as Dojo climbed up his arm.

"What's bothering you?"

"I fear Dojo that this could be a greater challenge, emotionally."

"You talking about Raimundo?"

"Indeed I am"

The two watched the monks as they ran through the doors before turning to go back into the meditation hall.

* * *

The three boys ran into the kitchen after quickly changing. Omi decided to straighten up his robes as they didn't need changing whereas Clay changed into his usual cowboy attire and Raimundo – after washing off Jack's blood – changed into his white long-sleeved shirt which had orange and green sleeves, tan cargo pants and black-and-white trainers.

As the boys ran into the kitchen Raimundo grabbed an empty bottle before rinsing it out to then fill it with water. He looked over to see Omi and Clay quickly making three sandwiches, Raimundo grabbed three plates to help speed up the overall process before they all sat down and quickly devoured their food.

"What is the plan for searching the forest? It is rather big and if we don't plan carefully we could waste precious time."

Raimundo and Clay both stopped eating for a second, considering Omi's words. Given the situation they couldn't afford to waste time, every minute they wasted meant Kimiko's life was at a greater risk. Just the thought of losing her sent shivers down their spines.

"We best plan out where we want to search first" Raimundo said between chews.

"I think some Shen Gong Wu might be useful too partner"

"But Clay, what would we take?"

The room once again fell silent; Raimundo sat thinking over which Wu would be useful to take with them.

"How about…" He slowly began, "The Falcon's eye and the Mind Reader Conch?"

The two boys nodded in unison before jumping onto their feet, startled by the loud crash outside.

"What the hell's happening now?" Raimundo groaned.

* * *

"So what Wu shall we take?"

"As much as I hate to say it, nothing Jack. We're here to stop these pests from finding Kimiko in time"

Jack slowly nodded at Wuya's words, slightly taken back from her lack of interest in the Shen Gong Wu. He understood they couldn't let Kimiko be found, but his head was still sore from Raimundo's beating.

Just as he was about to speak the vault doors slammed open, revealing three irritated monks.

"You dirty snakes" Clay spat, glaring at the two in front of them.

"What's wrong cowboy? You honestly thought I'd let you leave mid-battle?"

Wuya's lips curled into a sly grin as she turned her gaze to Raimundo. "You'll never find her in time, I won't let you"

Before he could even think, Raimundo charged forward yelling, "Wudai-Star Wind"

He watched as Wuya flew into the vault wall, wincing at the sound her head made as it collided with the bricks. He watched as she stumbled back up to her feet, a vicious look in her eyes.

Jack quickly pressed a button on his watch and shouted, "Jackbots attack!"

Omi and Clay spun round to see two dozen Jackbots fly into the room, taking a quick glance at each other they turned back to the robots.

"Wudai-Crater Earth"

"Wudai-Neptune Water"

As the robots attempted to dodge the water they were instantly destroyed from several boulders which made a direct hit. When the robots were destroyed Omi turned to Clay, smiling at the cowboy's smug grin.

"Excellent job, Clay" Omi congratulated.

Their miniature celebration was cut short by the sound of Wuya's scream; their faces turned to pure horror as they saw Wuya slowly head towards Raimundo who was trying to push himself off the floor. While they watched Wuya they saw she was a state, her skin was stained with drops of blood and her breathing was ragged – she looked a mess.

Just as Raimundo managed to push himself onto his feet, Wuya swung her fist hitting him directly in the face. Omi and Clay let out a slight gasp as Raimundo fell to the floor – unconscious.

"Stupid boy" she spat, before turning to face the others.

Omi and Clay quickly moved into their battle stances, prepared for the oncoming fight.

"Wudai-Neptune Water" Omi yelled; sending the witch flying back. He quickly looked at Jack to see him cowering in a corner.

As Wuya jumped to her feet she looked at the unconscious Brazilian, smiling at her work before turning to Jack. "Time to go Jack, our work's done"

Within a matter of seconds the two vanished in a black smoke. Clay waved his hand in front of his face, trying to clear the air; once the air slowly turned back to normal they both ran over to Raimundo.

"Clay, he is out warm"

"That's out cold partner"

"That makes no sense!"

"Let's just get him inside, ok?"

* * *

Raimundo groaned as his eyes slowly opened, his eyes darted around the room in panic until he realised his surroundings - the medical room. He carefully pushed himself up so he could lean against the wall; he rubbed his hand against his head until he heard someone come in.

"I see you are finally awake" Master Fung said with a smile.

"What happened?"

"During your battle with Wuya yesterday you were knocked unconscious. After that Omi and Clay brought you here"

Raimundo took in his words before his eyes widened. "D-Did you say yesterday?"

"Yes"

"What time is it?"

Raimundo started frantically looking round the room for a clock, his search stopped when he felt Master Fung place a hand on his shoulder.

"It is ten in the morning Raimundo"

"You do realise in one hour Kim will have been missing for two and a half days"

Raimundo watched as Master Fung lowered his head, he quietly exhaled before he raised his head back up.

"I am well aware Raimundo, but I want you to understand that I was not prepared to allow Omi and Clay to go through the forest alone, especially when I knew you would want to search for her as well"

Raimundo nodded at his words, he was angry that the others didn't leave to search for Kimiko, but also understood Master Fung – he did want to find Kimiko, heck he wanted to be the one to find her; to bring her back to safety.

"When can we search for her Master Fung?"

"In a few hours young one"

* * *

Clay sat at the table chewing away at his food with Omi sat next to him, reading through his _ancient guide to females_. Master Fung had informed them two hours ago that Raimundo was awake and how they would soon be able to search for Kimiko. As they sat Raimundo walked in and went to sit at his seat.

"Good to see you up Rai!" Clay greeted; spitting out crumbs in the process.

"Hi guys-" He paused as he noticed Omi with his book, "Omi, what're you doing with that out? You know Kim hates it"

"I understand Raimundo, but as Kimiko is not here I decided to try and find answers to my questions"

Raimundo slowly turned to look at Clay, he watched the cowboy shrug his shoulders before going back to his food. Raimundo turned back to the Chinese boy before asking. "What kind of questions?"

"Like why would a girl meet somebody just because of a note, even when she though it was a trap"

Raimundo just stared at Omi; the young monk spoke so calmly and didn't even take his eyes off his book.

"You won't find the answer in there partner"

"But why not Clay?"

Unsure of how to answer, Clay turned his head to Raimundo. Omi simply smiled at the Brazilian, waiting for an answer.

"You see Omi…" He began, "A secret admirer letter…"

He brushed his hand through his hair as he tried to think of the right words.

"It can be seen as romantic, you know? As well as slightly mysterious I guess…"

"I do not understand. Is it romantic or a mystery?"

"Romantic Omi, let's just leave it at that"

"Have you ever done this before?"

Raimundo looked back with slight shock, "A secret admirer letter? No why?"

Omi nodded his head before turning to Clay, who had finally finished devouring his meal.

"What did you mean the other morning when you suggested Raimundo was eager to see Kimiko?"

The two teen's eyes widened in horror; Raimundo had only ever admitted loving Kimiko to Clay knowing that if he told Omi, he might give in and tell Kimiko.

"Well?"

Raimundo slowly shook his head at Clay, a silent beg for him to not tell Omi.

"What I meant was, because it was the first thing he asked… well. I made a joke implying that he missed her"

"I see"

"Look, can't we just go find Kimiko already?" Raimundo asked, hoping to get off the awkward topic.

"No can do!" Yelled the shaking green dragon, "We got a Shen Gong Wu to find!"

* * *

Omi and Clay sat on Dojo while Raimundo lay down; staring up at the clouds as they flew through the air.

"The Wu could've held off, what, another two days? It's keeping us from finding Kim!"

Dojo rolled his eyes at the Brazilians comment, they all knew it was bad timing but that didn't mean they should allow evil to just take the Wu. It was their duty to collect and protect the Wu, and right now, they all had a headache from Omi's constant reminder.

"Raimundo, I have said this before. We must collect and protect the Shen Gong Wu! It is our duty as the chosen ones!"

"Shut the hell up Omi, you've just said that at least a few million times" Raimundo groaned, his eyes still watching the clouds.

"Omi, you got to understand where Raimundo is coming from" Clay started before quickly making sure his hat was secure on his head. "It's shortening our search time to find Kimiko, and we really need all the time we can get before…" His words trailed off, he hadn't the guts or courage to finish his words. He knew they needed faith in finding her, even if it was just for Raimundo's sake.

Sensing the depressed mood, Dojo quickly turned his head. "How about you look to see what the Wu is?"

For the first time during the whole journey Raimundo sat up, opening the scroll on his lap.

"Says here…" he said, trying to read the scroll. He called on his element to prevent any more wind from blowing the page around. "The Wu is the Souls Connection. When activated on two people, they will be able to find each other no matter where the other person is. Man we really could've done with this activating before Kim went missing."

"Talk about spoiled success" Omi mumbled.

Raimundo raised a brow as he turned to Clay for answers, he watched as the cowboy tapped his chin as he thought before clicking his fingers. "I'm guessing rotten luck"

Raimundo groaned as he turned back to the scroll, the animated image in the centre showed two people holding onto what looked like two cuffs joined together; in a flash of light the pair had a cuff each on one of their wrists. One person walked out of the frame and the other began to follow, it showed the person finding his friend as a line from the cuff directed him in the right direction. Raimundo sighed as the two animated beings reunited; the next time they went on a Wu hunt he was definitely making Kimiko use it.

Raimundo looked up at Clay, wondering what caused his sudden cheers, he shuddered as he looked around; remembering the events from last time.

"Oh boy is it good to be back in Texas!" The cowboy exclaimed; throwing his hat in the air as he jumped off Dojo. He couldn't help but grin as he stared at his family beef ranch.

Clay stood and watched as Omi walked over to the fence, admiring the cows with Dojo who was hanging on his arm. He turned his head to see Raimundo stood staring into the distance; taking a deep breath for courage he walked over to the adolescent.

"What's up partner?"

"Just remembering the last time we were here"

Clay let out a light chuckle as he remembered the time, "Yeah it was pretty fun, excluding Jack"

"Want to know what I'm remembering right now?"

Clay nodded his head as Raimundo sighed, brushing his hand through his hair.

"I remember Kimiko stepping out the door in her crazy cowgirl outfit, how she was trying to use her PDA to learn how to rope a cow while riding a horse." He paused to take a quick breath, "I remember when Spicer flooded the place I was safe on a tree branch, then how I lowered down and tried to grab her hand. I grabbed hold of her but her hand was soaked from swimming so she slipped out of my grasp, causing her to keep swimming as she tried to find safety." He stopped and finally turned to Clay, worry filling his emerald green eyes, "She's been gone over two and a half days and I'm going crazy without her, and she has no idea how crazy I am for her and I doubt she's ever thought of me as more than a friend"

Clay stood in silence, waiting to see if he was going to say anything else. After a few moments of silence the cowboy took the hint that it was his time to speak.

"Rai buddy, I know I can tease you on the subject but trust me when I say that you and our Kimiko are destined to be together. I know I'm not really one to believe in destiny and all that but since day one there's been something between you two, even if neither of you knew at first. Even though she hides it well I'm sure the little lady is crazy about you, you both really do have a connection."

Raimundo stood speechless, completely unable to respond. Kimiko liked him back? Surely he was dreaming? He looked at the cowboy, realising he was waiting for an answer from the speech. He swallowed hard before attempting to form a sentence.

"Kim… She- uh, likes me?" He swore under his breath at his failed attempt at making a sentence.

"As hard as she tries to hide it, I've noticed"

"Like what?" He needed proof, he had to be sure.

"Like whenever you congratulate her on winning a showdown or hug her or even put your hand on her shoulder, she tries turning her head away to hide the blush which forms every time. Her eyes light up if she talks about a showdown you were in, or how well you did in training. I've even seen her stare a little longer than she should too"

Raimundo couldn't help but grin at his words, he even let out a small chuckle, he was just so happy that the girl of his dreams liked him back. As he began thinking of Kimiko his smile began to fade as it turned to a frown.

"What's up Rai?"

"We won't be able to search for her when we get back will we? It'll be evening time, Master Fung won't allow it"

Clay lowered his head; the Shen Gong Wu activating really did happen at a bad time. He shook his head before patting his hand on Raimundo's shoulder. "No matter what happens tomorrow, we will drop everything to find Kimiko. We're both fully aware that if we don't find her tomorrow then it'll mean bad things for when we do finally find her."

Raimundo shook his head with determination, no way was he letting Kimiko die, not on his watch.

"Let's find that Wu"

* * *

"Well from what you boys have described, an object like that might be kept in Old Bessie's barn"

"Thanks daddy!" Clay said with a smile as the three boys headed over to the old barn.

"Oh I cannot wait to see my old friend once again"

"About that Omi, I didn't know how to tell you this but Bessie's no longer with us"

Omi's smile instantly left as his eyes began to water, "No, you are joking, I do not want to believe it!"

Before Clay could say anything Omi ran to the barn, slamming the doors open to see it now being used as storage.

"Look Omi, I'm sorry. But can you mourn later? We need to find the Wu so we can leave"

He turned his head up to face the Brazilian; he understood that he couldn't waste time feeling sad, retrieving the Wu and finding Kimiko were more important.

They all took an area of the barn to search, each muttering to themselves as they looked. As Clay searched his corner he heard something fall behind him; turning around he saw two cuffs which looked glued to each other. Raising them up in the air he called, "Is this it?"

"Yeah that's it!" Dojo exclaimed, his head appearing out of the cowboy's sleeve. After admiring the Wu he jumped onto the floor, transforming into his forty foot size. The three monks climbed on, waving goodbye to Clay's father as they flew back to the temple.

* * *

She had lost track of time ages ago, she couldn't even guess how many hours or days she'd been trapped.

She lay practically lifeless on the ground. She couldn't open her eyes; she didn't have the strength to. Her arms lay just in front of her face while her hair hung loose down her back. Despite the thirst and hunger she silently fought to keep going; she focused on the feeling the side of her hand felt every time she exhaled. She kept her mind busy with thoughts, thinking of past showdowns and training sessions; Omi's constant bad slang and how Raimundo would react every time. Out of all her thoughts she focused mainly on Raimundo, thinking of just how much the Brazilian changed her life over the years. She longed to see him again, but the fear crept in the back of her mind. She doubted she'd last another day out here; she was dehydrated; starving; and cold. She was too weak to call on her element; even if she could the flame would be so small she wouldn't warm up.

Kimiko tried to fight the sleep, worried she'd never wake up. Whenever exhaustion tried to take over she'd turn her left ankle; allowing the pain to shoot through her body. As she lay on the cold floor, accepting the pain, one thought ran through her mind.

'I need you Raimundo'

* * *

Dojo sniggered as he quietly moved across the wooden floors, carefully trying to prevent the gong in his hands from hitting anything. Once he'd reached the room of the sleeping monks he quickly slithered in, stopping once he reached Clay's room. Looking across at the three sleeping monks his lips curled into a mischievous grin as he hit the gong at a constant pace, screaming as they quickly woke up.

"Come on, come on! Get up!"

"Dojo, what is with this loud sound?" Omi yelled.

"Yeah Dojo it's five in the morning!" came the groan from the irritated Brazilian.

"Fine, my bad for waking you. I guess you don't want to find Kimiko"

As Dojo slithered off the three boys shot to the end of the hallway, looking to one and other before running back into their rooms to prepare.

Twenty minutes later the three teens were outside the Shen Gong Wu vault - Omi holding a fresh bottle of water. He watched as Raimundo played the tune on the chimes to open the vault; they waited at the top of the stairs as Raimundo walked down the stone steps, his eyes looking from box to box.

Moments later the Brazilian walked back up the stairs, the Falcon's eye and Mind Reader Conch in his heads.

"Let's save Kim"

* * *

The forest was calm, only a slight breeze swept through the trees as the three boys stood looking round at the scenery. Once again Raimundo lifted the Shen Gong Wu to his ear and said. "Mind Reader Conch"

The two boys stared with anticipation, their faces quickly turning sullen as Raimundo shook his head.

"How long have we been searching?"

"About three hours, partner"

"This is most terrible. How will we ever find Kimiko at this rate?"

"We'll find her" Raimundo snapped before walking ahead; calling out Kimiko's name.

When they first arrived at the forest they decided to search the left side. Two and a half hours later and no Kimiko, they headed off to the right, quietly sighing at the amount of forest they had left to search through.

Due to the size of the forest they knew they had to search every inch – even if it wasted time. Clay had used the Falcon's eye a few times to save time, but their hearts sank every time they saw nothing but trees with it.

Another twenty minutes had passed with no luck, Raimundo let out a loud sigh as he looked down at the Wu in his hands. Feeling a hand on his right arm, Raimundo turned his head to see Omi looking up.

"We will find her Raimundo, and we shall not stop searching until we do"

Raimundo smiled at the small monks words, with a nod he turned his head back, raising the Conch to his ear and once again said, "Mind Reader Conch"

He carefully listened, blocking out Omi and Clay's thoughts of concern for both Kimiko and himself. As he slightly turned his head, he heard the words which chilled him to the bone.

'I don't want to die like this'

* * *

Kimiko lay on the hard, cold floor; unable to move. She was slowly dying, and she knew it. Her breaths were slow and raspy, they became worse every time she tried to distract herself by thinking – she accepted the fact that this was the end for her, even though she didn't want to die like this.

"Kimiko?"

The noise was faint, but her heart felt like it skipped a beat from hearing the word, from hearing him.

'Raimundo?' she thought.

* * *

"Guy's I can hear her" Raimundo quickly said to the two teens. He never gave them the chance to reply as he shouted once more, "Kimiko! I can hear you! Where are you?"

He instantly brought the Conch up to his ear as Clay used the falcon eye to carefully search the area; he listened closely and soon heard her weak words.

'C- Cave'

"Clay can you see a cave anywhere?!" Raimundo said, almost shouting at the cowboy.

Clay shook his head as he slowly turned, thoroughly looking through the Falcon's Eye to make sure he didn't miss her.

'R-Rai…'

"Yeah Kimi?" He shouted, hoping she'd hear him again.

'I love you'

Raimundo gripped the Conch to his ear as Kimiko went quiet, his heart was beating at twice the speed, he'd of been cheering for joy if it wasn't for the worrisome silence.

"Kim… Kimiko?" He shouted; his heart sank as no reply came.

"Got her"

Raimundo turned to face the cowboy and instantly began to run in the direction he pointed towards.

* * *

He stopped as he entered the centre of the small clearing, his gaze locked on the collapsed rocks.

"Oh Kimi" he muttered under his breath.

He turned his head to the sounds of the gasps. Clay's eyes were widened with horror while Omi looked like he was about to cry. Not wanting to waste any more time Raimundo turned to Clay.

"Clay, think you can move the rocks? Or at least a good amount so I can go in and get Kim?"

Clay nodded his head as he stepped forward, he closed his eyes and inhaled before raising his hands out in front of him, "Earth" he whispered. Raimundo watched as a cluster of rocks in the top right corner began to shake and then move over to the far right leaving a good sized gap into the cave.

As Clay opened his eyes he saw Raimundo already jumping into the cave.

* * *

As Raimundo jumped into the newly lit area he suddenly froze. In front of him lay the unconscious Japanese girl, coming to his senses he quickly ran to her and began scooping her up into his arms. His lip slightly curled as he heard a quiet moan escape the girl's lips.

"Come on baby, I've got you" he whispered as he got to his feet.

As he jumped out of the cave he looked down and saw the true damage of being stuck in the cave. Her skin was a dull shade under the thin layer of dirt, she had a dried blood stain on her left temple and as he looked down her body he saw her ankle was an ugly shade of purple.

Once he jumped off the rocks he moved a few paces in front of the cave before sitting down; Omi and Clay watched as Raimundo sat the seemingly unconscious girl onto his lap while using his left arm to keep her sat upright.

"Omi, the water"

Omi quickly unscrewed the cap off of the bottle before passing it to the boy, he carefully watched as he turned Kimiko's head before opening her mouth. The tension filled the air as Raimundo slowly poured a small amount of water into the girl's mouth before slowly closing it shut.

Realising she wasn't moving, Raimundo gently taped the side of her cheek as he calmly said her name, after a few taps he saw her eyebrows scrunch up before she swallowed the water. The action quickly caused as coughing fit as she shot her head forward.

"Oh you had me worried there little lady" Clay said as he wiped his brow, he turned his head to Omi to see him grinning as relief washed over his entire face.

When Kimiko managed to stop coughing her head fell against her teammate's chest, after a few breaths she whispered out. "M-More water"

Raimundo responded with bringing the bottle up to her lips and slowly lifting it as she took small sips, quickly pulling the bottle away as she began to cough once more. He held the bottle out to Omi who quickly took hold of it; once the bottle was gone he brought his right arm around Kimiko and protectively held her as she coughed into his chest.

"Ready to go home?" He whispered against her head

At her slow nod he stood up, once again holding her bridal style. As he looked over to the other two he caught Clay's smile, instead of retaliating he just smiled back knowing the girl he loved was safe in his arms.

* * *

Kimiko's eyes slowly fluttered open, as she looked around her surroundings she realised she was in the medical room in the temple. She let a small smile show on her face as she turned her head to see Raimundo lying next to her; his left arm behind her head as his right hand gently brushed through her hair.

"Rai" she whispered

"Kimi, how're you feeling?" He asked in a gentle tone.

"Not great, my throat's so sore it feels like it was replaced with sandpaper"

The Brazilian let out a light chuckle at her comment, not once stopping from brushing his hand through her hair.

"H-How long was I in the cave?"

She felt his hand briefly stop as his body tensed, after a moment his body relaxed and his hand continued to brush through her messy hair.

"Almost three and a half days"

Kimiko replied with a quiet 'oh' as she gently nodded her head, before she could say anymore Omi walked in with a mug in his hands with Clay only a few steps behind.

"Kimiko! I am glad to see you are awake!" Omi exclaimed as he walked over. "Since you haven't eaten in days we thought you'd prefer to start off with soup"

As he came closer she saw the soup gently swirling round in the mug, she felt her stomach rumble as she tried to push herself up. In her failed attempts she quickly felt Raimundo shift next to her, when she turned her head she saw him put his hands behind her back and legs as he carefully lifted her into a seated position. She smiled as she watched him adjust his position, making sure he was seated slightly behind her to keep her upright.

A small gasp escaped from her lips as she lifted her hands up, seeing how they violently shook.

Omi frowned at the situation before looking to Raimundo, quickly gaining an idea he held the mug out to Raimundo who held it from the bottom. Kimiko put her hands around the mug as Raimundo continued to hold it from underneath. His hand followed as she slowly pulled the mug up to her lips. They cautiously watched as she took a small sip, worried it might bring on another coughing fit. After a few sips she looked across at the teens with a confused look in her eyes.

"What?" she whispered.

"Sorry Kimiko, we were just worried it might bring on another one of those coughing fits"

Kimiko gave a small smile to the cowboy; she turned to Raimundo and motioned him to put the mug down. As he leaned over to the table Kimiko stretched her arms and legs, she went to stretch her ankles and quietly yelped as she clutched her left ankle. She turned to Raimundo as he placed a hand on her back and shoulder.

"What's the damage?" she asked, still only able to whisper.

"Nothing permanent, just bad bruising and I wouldn't try to walk for a few days if I were you"

She sighed as she went to lie back down, Raimundo shifted into his original position and smiled as she lay back in his arms. Looking up to the cowboy he gave a look telling him to give them some privacy.

"Come on partner, Kimiko needs her rest" He said to Omi, lightly pushing him to leave the room.

"But why must we leave and not Raimundo?"

"Because he's busy being a pillow" came the response from the Japanese girl.

Omi simply stared at her in confusion before being pushed out the room by Clay, once the two were out of sight Kimiko nuzzled her head into Raimundo's chest as he wrapped his right arm around her to continue brushing his fingers through her hair.

"Kim-"

"Rai"

"You first Kimi"

"D-Did you call me 'baby' earlier?"

If she had turned to face him she would've seen a deep red blush across his cheeks. Before he responded he tilted his head so his cheek was resting against the top of her head.

"I did… not long after you told me you loved me"

"So you remember that, huh?" she asked awkwardly.

"I do, but you see Kim, you passed out before I could say I love you too"

He looked down to see Kimiko push herself back, allowing her to look up to face him. As he looked down at her he smiled with his genuine, loving smile as he brushed some of her hair behind her ear.

"W-What did you say?"

"I said I love you too Kimi"

He watched as a small blush formed on her cheeks. Seeing the opportunity he lowered his head down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, he felt her smile as she gently kissed him back. Pulling away he cupped her cheek with his hand, as he looked down into her eyes he saw fatigue lingering.

"You need to eat and sleep" he calmly instructed.

Kimiko nodded as she placed her hand on top of his. "Stay, even if I fall asleep?"

Raimundo smiled as he leaned over and kissed her on her forehead, he pulled away slightly, his lips able to feel a few strands of her hair. "I promise, I'm not going anywhere Kimiko"

"Good"

"Oh by the way, when you're well enough to go on Shen Gong Wu hunts or to leave the temple, we got a new Wu which I'm going to make you wear every time"

"Ok." Her eyes widened as she realised his words, "Wait, what?"


End file.
